The Worthington advance. [volume] (Worthington, Minn.) 1874-1908, 1887-01-06
Mrs Cleveland's Tact.

MIS- Clovelaud'6 Tact.
'There is no danger" says = Wash
ington lady who recently called upon
Mrs. Cleveland when she was receiving
informally those of her acquaintances
who had previously met her in social
way. ''of the presidents wife ever in
jqring his political prospects by injudi.
cious remarks. She seems on the spur
OF the moment to say just tho ri ht
thing in reply to remarks that she
could not possibly have anticipated. l
begin to think from the opportunities
l have had of observing ladies in public
positions during over twenty years
residence in Washington that, like the
poets, presidents wives are born, not
made, and Mrs. Cleveland certainly
was endowed by nature with the quail
ties of mind and heart which would
best fit her for the place she now fills
so gracefully. When one is with her
one thinks more of her charming, un.
affected manner than of what she wears
or whether she is beautiful woman or
not
Mrs. Cleveland receives with frank,
unaffected cordially that puts her Wis
itors at ease at once, writes q Wash.
ington correspondent of The Philadcl-
phia Times. She both talks we'll and
listens we'll, and manifests interest in
all that is said to her, as we'll as readi-
ness in beginning conversation. She
seems absolutely unconscious of the
fact that she is 1.-The first lady of the
land" doing the honors of the resi-
dence of its chief magistrate. When
someone said to her that she need not
be afraid of ''people whom she would
not care TO meet intruding when she
was receiving informally in the even
ings. because those who would be en-
barrassed by sitting down for a tete-a-
tete with the mistress of the white
house would rather come on some more
public occasion, when they would be
lost in the crowd and any deficiencies
in their dress or conversation would es-
cape notice, Mrs. Cleveland said
promptly and with evident sincerity:
Il do not know who the people are
that would not care to meet I
don't object to meeting anyone, but
only to having crowd come when
am receiving in the evenings. as might
be the case if they thought 1 was hay
ing formal evening reception for the
public" A congressman said. on
hearing this: Mrs. Logan herself
could not improve on that speech for
its ready tact.''
Mrs. Cleveland sees her visitors in
the red parlor. While waiting for her
they are shown into the blue room, and
in a very few minutes she comes to
them. walking with the buoyancy
natural to her youth, aud invites them
to 60 into the red room, as that is less
a chamber for occasions of state than
the other. When passing through the
doorway Mrs. Cleveland always steps
back for her visitors to precede her,
and when one of them recently, lady
much older older than herself, but un-
married said to her at the door, .Dh,
Mrs. Cleveland, you must go first; the
married ladies always take precedence
of unmarried Ones" she said, in a
merry tone: "ls that so? Then we
will 90 together" and so walked by
the other lady's side. AS soon as she
enters the red par1or she asks her
visitors to be seated, and, when they
are, herself draws chair near to them
and takes her seat.